And where was I before the day, that I first saw your lovely face? Now I see it everyday, and I know...that I am, I am, I am-the luckiest.

Happy FIRST Birthday Evelyn Kate! 

I can't believe it's been one year since you graced us with your presence on a warm June day, in Washington, DC. You've changed our lives for the better, and you light up our lives.

Here is a little rundown of where you are developmentally... I'm definitely not one of those people that is good at writing down every little detail and date. So, I will apologize to you in advance for not being able to tell you the date that you first rolled over, or full video/photo documentation of your first bath, or the first time you clapped your hands. Those precious moments though, are all tucked neatly away in my memory...and I look back on them fondly. I don't need to tell you that it was on August 9th that you gave me your first legit smile (I really have no idea when it was), but I won't ever forget that moment. So, without further adieu here is a little snapshot of you:

You are fiercely independent. You will often kick and squirm to be put down on the ground so you can crawl around and get into mischief. You don't like to be stifled one bit. So, we do our best to give you your freedom.

Here you are playing with your Dad's dirty underpants... I quickly snapped the pic and then took them away... and thoroughly sanitized you.

You LOVE to eat! Your palate has changed a bit though since you first started eating. You used to eat EV.ER.Y.THING! {I truly believe that Baby Led Weaning was one of the best things we ever did for you.} But now, you've gotten a little more picky. And if the food isn't well seasoned, you can forget about it because you're not eating it. Bland chicken? NO WAY! This girl needs flavor.

You are an absolutely fabulous sleeper, and you have been since you were 10 weeks old. From 13 weeks you were sleeping 12 hours straight at night, and you haven't looked back since. We put you to bed around 6:30 or 7 every night, and we have stuck to that routine 100% since then. And, you, in return have always slept soundly for 12 straight hours. 

I weaned you a week ago... and I was nervous that you wouldn't want to stop nursing. But, being the independent little lady that you are- you have no issues whatsoever with drinking your milk from your favorite straw sippy cups. You seemed a little confused that first day, but now you haven't looked back. And, we no longer have to put Strawberry Quik in your milk. You can drink goat or whole milk with ease.

You are fearless. Literally. We look away for a half a second and you will have begun climbing the stairs or climbed on top of the coffee table. It doesn't bother you one bit and you look at us like we're crazy when we come running over to get you down/stop you from leaping/whatever.

You are walking! And you are darn proud of yourself! You fall down a lot, but that's ok because you always pick yourself back up and try again.

Last week you learned how to wave hello and good-bye. And you try to say 'hello' and 'bye bye'- Hello sounds like "huhhhh luhhhh" and bye sounds like "bahhhh". It's very sweet. Your comprehension of language seems to be improving every single day. And your expression of language is in the form of incoherent words but you "talk" all the time. You talk to your Lambie, you talk to yourself in the mirror, you talk to the dog... Basically anyone who will listen. You try to repeat our words back to us, but it usually sounds like something... but not usually what we are saying.

You love to be the center of attention. You love to have all eyes on you, and have people clapping for you. You can be quite a ham. Wonder who you get that from... no, not really. I'm pretty sure I can figure that one out. ;)

You have 3 teeth on the bottom, and 2 on the top. Your teeth on top have a precious gap in them. It reminds me of Mick Jagger... and it's very endearing. 

You have learned to give kisses, and you will be selective with who, where and when you will administer them.

You know what you're supposed to touch and what you're not supposed to touch. If you reaching for an object that you know you're not supposed to touch, you look at me first... testing me. Too smart for your own good, I tell ya! Little bugger!

You have discovered that you can actually do the peek-a-booing, so you do it... often. Sometimes you hide behind the couch, sometimes you just turn your head. You think it's great. And so do I.

You are such a joy in my life. I have no regrets about working night shifts and giving up my weekends in order to be able to raise you. I love having my 'Stay-at-Home Mom' life during the week and being around for all of your big moments, and then getting to go do a job I love on the weekends. We have had our highs and lows over the last year... and we've learned a lot together. And, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm thankful to have the bad with the good, because it just makes life that much sweeter. 

I can't wait to see the person that you continue to grow into. You amaze me everyday. Thank you for being you, Evelyn Kate. And thank you for being mine.

I adore you.

Last night we celebrated Evie's First Birthday with my Dad, MK, Lauren, Jim, Beth and Andi. We had a great time! And Evie enjoyed her cake thoroughly!